SBC Communications unveiled a proposal that would provide its local phone company competitors the ability to lock in UNE-p wholesale rates of $22 through the end of 2004 throughout its 13-state service territory. The offer comes six weeks after a federal court rejected the FCC's wholesale rules and three weeks after the FCC urged the industry to negotiate on its own, which was followed by the first-of-its-kind agreement between SBC and Sage Telecom that set competitive terms for seven years.
SBC's letter said that the proposal would be available to any wholesale customer that responds to the company on or before June 15, the day before the FCC's wholesale rules are set to expire under the federal court ruling. http://www.sbc.com
- Last week, Qwest Communications and Covad Communications announced the completion of a three-year commercial line sharing agreement that provides Covad with access to local lines in the seven states within the Qwest region.
- In March, all five of the FCC Commissioners signed a letter urging the nation's telecommunications carriers and trade associations to begin a period of "good faith" commercial negotiations on UNE-p resale rates. The plea followed the ruling of a three-judge panel in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals that overturned the FCC's Triennial Review Order with regard to network unbundling rules.
